兒童英語讀物《神奇樹屋》 第七冊 Afternoon on the Amazon 06

6 Song on the Wind

“Peanut’s tracks，”said Annie.“We have to find her before she freezes.”

She wrapped her reindeer coat around her and headed across the snow.

Jack pulled on his backpack and followed.

The mouse’s tracks led them between the fallen rocks and back onto the open plain.

The wind blew harder.Snow swirled over the ground，covering the tiny footprints.

“I can’t see them anymore!”wailed Annie.

She and Jack now stood in the middle of the plain.They stared at the windswept snow.

The mouse’s tracks had vanished.

“Yikes，”whispered Annie，staring up.

Jack followed her gaze.On one of the cliffs was a tiger.A giant tiger with two long，sharp fangs.

“A sabertooth，”said Jack.

“I hope he doesn’t see us，”whispered Annie.

“Me too，”Jack whispered back.“We’d better head back to the tree house.”

Jack and Annie stepped very softly across the snow.Then Jack glanced back at the cliff.

The sabertooth was gone.

“Oh man，”he said.“Where is he?”

“Run to the trees!”said Annie.

He and Annie started running.They ran over the snowy plain，heading toward the tall，bare trees in the distance.

Suddenly Jack heard a crack.

The ground caved in，and Jack went with it.

Annie fell beside him.

They crashed down onto a heap of branches，snow，and earth.

They struggled to stand.Jack pushed his glasses into place.

“You all right?”he asked Annie.

“Yes，”she said.

They both looked up.They were in a deep hole.All Jack could see were gray clouds moving overhead.

“This is a trap，”Jack said.“The Cro-Mag-nons must have put branches over this hole.Then the snow hid the branches.So we didn’t see them.”

“There’s no way out，”said Annie.

She was right.They were helpless.The pit was too deep to climb out of.

“I feel like a trapped animal，”Annie said.

“Me too，”said Jack.

He heard a yowl in the distance.

“The sabertooth!”whispered Annie.

Jack pulled out the Ice Age book.He found a picture of the sabertooth.He read:

The sabertooth was the fiercest beast of the Ice Age.It attacked humans as well as woolly mammoths and other large animals.

“Oh brother，”said Jack.

“Listen!”Annie grabbed him.

“What?”Jack jumped.

“I hear music.”

Jack listened.But all he heard was the wind.

“You hear it?”said Annie.

“No，”said Jack.

“Listen carefully.”

He closed his eyes.He listened very carefully.

He heard the wind.But this time he heard another sound，too.

Strange，haunting music.

“Ahhh!”cried Annie.

Jack opened his eyes.

Staring down at them was a figure wearing reindeer antlers and an owl mask.

“The sorcerer，”whispered Jack.

Squeak.

Peanut peered down at them，too!

6風中的歌聲

“花生的腳印。”安妮說，“在它凍僵之前，我們必須找到它。”

她把身上的馴鹿皮外套裹得更嚴些，然后就向雪地走去。

杰克背上背包，跟了上去。

小老鼠的足跡引著他們在墜落的亂石間穿行，帶他們回到了廣闊的平原上。

風越刮越兇。雪片在地面上打轉(zhuǎn)，掩蓋了那細細的足跡。

“我什么足跡也看不見了!”安妮嗚咽著。

她和杰克此刻站在平原的中央。他們目不轉(zhuǎn)睛地盯著風中的雪。

小老鼠的足跡早已無影無蹤了。

“天啊。”安妮咕噥著，抬頭往上看。

杰克順著她的目光看過去。在一面懸崖上有一只老虎。一只有著兩枚長長的鋒利尖牙的大老虎。

“劍齒虎!”杰克說。

“我希望它沒看見我們。”安妮低聲說。

“我也一樣。”杰克低聲跟著說，“我們最好回樹屋去。”

杰克和安妮輕手輕腳地橫穿雪地。然后，杰克回頭瞄了一眼懸崖。

劍齒虎不見了。

“啊，老天。”他說，“它上哪兒去了?”

“快朝樹林跑!”安妮說。

他和安妮開始跑了起來。他們跑過大雪覆蓋的平原，朝著遠處那高高的光禿禿的樹林跑去。

杰克突然間聽見嘩啦一聲。

地面坍陷了，杰克掉了下去。

安妮在他身旁也跟著掉了下去。

他們踩塌了一堆樹枝、積雪和泥土，轟地掉了下去。

他們掙扎著站了起來。杰克扶了扶眼鏡。

“你還好嗎?”他問安妮。

“是的。”她說。

他們倆向上望去。他們掉進了一個很深的土坑里。杰克只能看見灰暗的云在頭頂飄過。

“這是一個陷阱。”杰克說，“肯定是克羅馬農(nóng)人把樹枝放在坑上面，然后大雪把樹枝遮蓋了。所以我們看不見。”

“我們出不去了。”安妮說。

她說得對。他們孤立無助。土坑深得爬不出去。

“我感覺自己像只掉入陷阱的動物。”安妮說。

“我的感覺也一樣。”杰克說。

他聽見遠處的一聲吼叫。

“劍齒虎!”安妮低聲說。

杰克打開冰河時代那本書。他找到一幅畫有劍齒虎的畫，讀道：

劍齒虎是冰河時代最兇猛的野獸。它既攻擊人類也攻擊長毛猛犸，以及其他大型動物。

“啊，天哪!”杰克說。

“聽!”安妮一把抓住杰克。

“什么?”杰克跳了起來。

“我聽到了音樂聲。”

杰克側(cè)耳傾聽。但他只聽到了風聲。

“你聽到了嗎?”安妮問。

“沒有。”杰克說。

“仔細聽聽。”

他閉上雙眼，仔仔細細地認真聽著。

他聽到了風聲。不過這一次他也聽到了另一種聲音。

奇特的縈繞不斷的音樂聲。

“哎——!”安妮叫喊著。

杰克睜開了眼睛。

正向下盯著他們的是一個頭戴馴鹿角和貓頭鷹面具的人。

“是巫師。”杰克說。

吱吱。

花生也低頭瞄著他們。